The Lenovo Smart Display with Google Assistant goes on sale July 27th, but the 10-inch model (with the nicer bamboo rear finish) is already $50 off for Costco members, bringing the price down to $199. This not only puts it at the same cost as the eight-inch model, but it’s also $30 cheaper than its main rival: the Amazon Echo Show.
You should definitely read our review to get a sense of whether a Smart Display would be a good purchase. This is just the first of them, but it’s already very clear that having Google Assistant on a screen is pretty great in a variety of settings. You can pull up YouTube videos or step-by-step recipes in the kitchen or use it as a small screen for YouTube TV.
Its screen works well in all lighting conditions, and if you’re already deep in Google’s ecosystem, Assistant can make using the device feel more personal by pulling up your own photos and other content. There’s a front-facing camera for video calls, but you can easily close that off with the physical hardware shutter.
Plus, the software is really sleek and nice. Dieter says the user experience offers “the clearest statement of what Google thinks software should look like” when left to its own creativity and without the constraints it must deal with in Android and Chrome OS. There’s no app store, but you can play Spotify and cast content from many mobile apps to the screen. The speaker won’t blow you away, but for a first try at putting Assistant on a display, Google and Lenovo have done an excellent job.
